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$16M in taxes delinquent in county

The taxes on the property at 100 Vista Blvd. in Avery’s Creek come to $79,929. The building is owned by Nypro Realty Limited Partnership in Clinton, Massachusetts.(Photo: Katie Bailey/bkbailey@citizen-times.com)Buy Photo

The ballgame's over. The clock has struck midnight. The carriage has turned into a pumpkin. Your taxes are due.

Past due, actually.

Didn't know that your tax bill is late? Join the crowd. Several Buncombe County property owners with the highest unpaid bills tied to land and buildings have said they didn't know they were delinquent — or didn't even know they owed.

"We were totally unaware of the bill being due," said Don Elliot, whose Sunshine Chevrolet business owed $32,529 in taxes and interest on the dealership in Arden. Elliot surmised the bill got sent to a different office, or possibly overlooked.

As of Jan. 19, two weeks after the Jan. 5 due date, county property owners officially owed $15.8 million, including interest. Some interesting facts about that sizable chunk of change:

• Of the top 10 highest delinquent bills, almost half belonged to out-of-town owners, including a major plastics manufacturer and the owner of a 41,000-square-foot downtown building.

• For at least one owner of multiple late bills amounting to more than $259,000, being past-due is just part of doing business.

• Delinquency is actually going down year-to-year, with more landowners volunteering to work with tax collectors.

The engine of government

Property taxes are the gas that makes local governments go. From the smallest towns to the expansive county government, taxes charged to landowners make up the biggest chunk of revenue.

Of county government's $292 million operating budget this year, more than half — $162 million — came from property taxes. The second-biggest piece, $45 million, came from the state and federal governments for various programs. The majority of county tax dollars go to three areas: public assistance, such as Medicaid, and law enforcement and schools.

The county's tax department does the dirty work for all the local governments, collecting county and city taxes and going after late-payers.

While not glamorous, diligent tax collecting can actually keep property taxes down, said county Board of Commissioners Chairman David Gantt. That's because if the county loses money through delinquencies, officials will likely look to make it up in other ways, possibly by raising taxes and fees.

"There's a fairness issue for everyone else who pays it — and fact that we may have to consider increases because we don't collect enough. That's reason enough to push it hard," Gantt said.

Tick-tock

Like any bill collector, the tax department sends out a series of letters to property owners ranging from polite to nasty.

The first goes out in mid- to late-August, reminding taxpayers that bills are due by Jan. 5 at the latest.

On Jan. 6, bills are past due and interest charges begin. Interest starts at 2 percent, then climbs to 2.75 percent in February, then 3.5 percent in March.

From Jan. 10-15, the tax department sends out a "courtesy letter," said County Tax Director Gary Roberts. That's a polite reminder that an owner's tax payment is late and a notation that 2 percent interest is being charged.

Later, Roberts goes to county commissioners and gets permission for more aggressive action.

"That's the 'ugly' notice" that goes out the first week in February, Roberts said. That letter says that the county may do "bank attachments, wage attachment or possibly even foreclosure. It says no more information will be sent and that we will advertise your name in the newspaper."

Out-of-town owners

For this year, the late bill for the largest amount belonged to Nypro Realty Limited Partnership for industrial property at 100 Vista Blvd. in Avery's Creek.

The employee-owned plastics manufacturer based in Clinton, Massachusetts, owed $79,929, including $1,567 in interest as of Jan. 20.

Contacted last week by the Citizen-Times, Nypro officials said they were confused because they had paid the bill.

But tax officials said they later spoke with Nypro and explained that there was a second amount due. The company had expanded the plant and that expansion meant more taxable value, Roberts said.

The latest county assessment put the value of Nypro's bulding which sits on 8.4 acres at $17.5 million.

Like Nypro, several of the top late bills belonged to out-of-town property owners. Out of the top 10 amounts owed, three others came from outside the county and the state. They were:

• MRK Washington Avenue LLC of Concord, Massachusetts, owed $34,304 in county and city taxes on property at 68 Patton Ave. That's the former Bank of America building downtown. The building, valued at $2.8 million, is vacant.

• Asheville Property Investment LLC of Chattanooga, Tennessee, owed $32,580 in county and city taxes for property at 91 Victoria Road. A building and 2.2 acres were valued at $2.6 million.

•Joseph Gaddini, of Naples, Florida, owed $28,326 in county and city taxes for property at 1 Beaver Creek Lane. A building and 3.4 acres there were valued at $2.3 million.

None of these owners could be reached for comment.

Other biggies

Buy Photo

The owed taxes on the property at 75 Turtle Creek Drive in South Asheville, owned by Carl Ricker, come to $65,033.(Photo: Katie Bailey/bkbailey@citizen-times.com)

The second-biggest late bill — $65,033 — belonged to Asheville developer Carl Ricker for a commercial building at 75 Turtle Creek Drive in south Asheville. That property is valued at $6 million.

But that wasn't Ricker's only property on the delinquent list. A major developer and owner of commercial properties around the nation, he owed more than $259,000 in taxes and interest on more than a dozen properties around the county.

Ricker, who was honored in 2009 by the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, said being late and paying the interest is just part of dealing with tenants and operating his businesses.

"That happens every year with us. We own a lot of property all across the U.S. ... and you have to wait until you get all your bills and they usually come at the very end of the year," he said.

There's a period of reconciling taxes owed and figuring out how to adjust the leases for various tenants. Those added expenses are wrapped into leases, sometimes meaning increased payments for tenants, he said.

Tax officials confirmed that Ricker regularly works out payments for properties every year some time in January before interest climbs to 2.75 percent.

Taxes owed on this property at 319 Biltmore Ave. in Asheville come to $48,999. The bill is owed by DJR Enterprises LLC, but the current owner is Duke Energy.(Photo: Katie Bailey/bkbailey@citizen-times.com)

Among the other notable delinquencies was a $48,999 bill for the former car dealership at 319 Biltmore Ave., just north of Mission Hospital. The 5.3 acres are valued at $4 million.

The bill is owed by DJR Enterprises LLC. But the current owner is Duke Energy, which has plans to put a transformer there — though the company has also been approached about being involved in the redevelopment of neighboring Lee Walker Heights public housing complex. Plans call for tearing down the older housing and building a mixed-income housing development with some stores.

A Duke official said he didn't have any information about the past-due bill. DJR owners could not be reached for comment.

Confusion, contrition

Among the late bills, a large percentage of owners who are contacted pay up.

After being called by the Citizen-Times, Sunshine Chevrolet officials said they got in touch with the tax office immediately and planned to bring a check.

After the first initial late letters went out to property owners telling them they were late, more than $5 million in payments came in to the tax officer, Roberts said.

That was a drop from $15.8 million in delinquencies on Jan. 19 to $10.4 million just a few days later when the office was flooded with payments.

Overall, unpaid bills have gone down over the years. Last year, the tax office had a collection rate of 99.6 percent.

That preceded a collection rate of 99.4 percent in 2013 and 99.2 percent in 2012, Roberts said.

The difference, the tax director said, is an increasing willingness by landowners to work with the department and make a series of payments.

"A lot of people come to us early. A lot of businesses do this. They come to us and say, we want to set up a payment plan. It's something we really are encouraging, just come talk to us," he said.

Tax questions?

The Buncombe County Tax Department handles taxes for the county and all municipalities in Buncombe.